Physical therapy device



March 31, 1970 J. S. MCALLISTER 3,503,387

PHYSICAL THERAPY DEVICE Filed Aug. 21. 1967 JAM/r .5 Me 414/575?fif/kenaevc United States Patent 3,503,387 PHYSICAL THERAPY DEVICE JackS. McAllister, 467 73rd St., Centerville, II]. 62206 Filed Aug. 21,1967, Ser. No. 661,919 Int. Cl. A61h 1/00 U.S. Cl. 12825 1 ClaimABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An adjustable speed motor turns a wheel byfrictional force (friction drive or clutch), Cranks on either side ofthe wheel are connected to the axle of the wheel. A pedal with a footbracket is mounted on each of the cranks. A frame, mounted on a base ofthe device has on it a seat and a body support positioned above thewheel. The body support embraces the body of the user, has two openingsthrough which the legs of the user extend, and has a peripheral railaround its top.

The device provides exercise and/or stimulation for the legs of theuser, and is especially designed for those persons who have little or nouse of their legs, such as victims of multiple sclerosis or someafiliction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a self-driven legexerciser for providing exercise and stimulation to the users legs. Ithas special utility in connection with persons who have little or no useof their legs.

Many persons have for various reasons lost or never had use of theirlegs, or they have very little use of their legs. There is presently agreat need for some way to give these persons legs some mild exerciseand/or stimulation. It is a commonly known fact that lack of use of alimb tends to make that limb weaker, and thus makes use of the limb moredifficult if not impossible after extended periods of disuse.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a device which willalleviate to some degree the problem of providing exercise and/ orstimulation to persons with little or no use of their legs.

Another object of this invention is to provide a means by which thespeed of the exercising of the legs can be adjusted so as to allow fordifferences in need and capabilities of the users.

Another object of this invention is to provide a body support for theuser to both support the user and to keep the user from falling from theseat of the device.

Still another object is to provide such a device which is safe inoperation.

Other objects will occur to those skilled in the art in the light of thefollowing description and accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with this invention, generallystated, a physical therapy device is provided in the form of pedalspower driven through a friction coupling, the power means being adaptedto drive the pedals at any selected speed within a wide range of speeds,and a body support mounted above the pedals and adapted to embrace thetorso of a user to provide support for the user. In the preferredembodiment, the pedals are connected to the axle of a large wheel, andthe body support has a pair of openings to admit the legs of the userand to permit the feet of the user to reach the pedals through the fulltravel of the pedals, and a peripheral rail as well as a body-embracingintermediate wall.

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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawing, FIGURE 1 is a view inside elevation of one illustrative embodiment of physical therapy deviceof this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view in front elevation of the device shown in FIGURE 1;and

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the device of FIG- URES 1 and 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing forone illustrative example of physical therapy device of the invention,reference numeral 1 indicates a base on which is mounted an electricmotor 30. A drive cylinder 31 is mounted on the rotor shaft of the motor30. The drive cylinder 31 engages frictionally a wheel 21 which ismounted on an axle 24. The axle 24 is journaled for rotation in bearingsmounted on a fork 20. Fork 20 is connected to, supported by and extendsdownwardly from a bar 6, part of a frame 2. The frame 2 includes avertical rear post 5 mounted at its lower end to the base 1 and, in theembodiment shown, integral at its upper end with the bar 6 which isparallel to the base; a forward cross-bar 7 with two rearwardlyextending side arms 8 and 9, one at either end of the bar 7, the bar 6being secured to the center of the span of the forward cross-bar 7between the side arms 8 and 9, and vertical forward posts 3 and 4,mounted at their lower ends on the base and integral at their upper endswith the side arms 8 and 9 respectively. A seat 10 is securely mountedon top of the bar 6. A body support 11 is mounted on and extendsupwardly from the seat 10. The body support 11 is somewhat basketshaped, with a bottom wall 15 and side wall 16 integral with the bottomwall. The side wall is roughly rectangular in cross section; with wellrounded corners. At the two front corners of the body support 11 areopenings 12 cut from the side and bottom walls, through which a personslegs fit easily when the person is seated on seat 10. A strap 14,integral with the side and bottom walls of the body support, is leftintermediate the openings 12. A peripheral rail 13 extends around theupper edge of the support, which permits a person to either place hishands or arms on or over the rail 13 for support or to keep his handsand arms within the bounds of the rail 13. If the side wall of the bodysupport were less all-embracing, the rail 13 would function to keep theperson from falling from seat 10 by acting as a guard rail. As it is,the side wall gives rather complete support to the body.

On each end of axle 24 is a pedal 22. On each pedal 22 is a foot brace23. Each of the foot braces 23 has a set of straps, not here shown,which holds a persons foot in position in the foot brace while one isusing the device.

Mounted on the base 1 is a rheostat 40 which has a lever 41 by which toadjust the rheostat. The rheostat lever 41 is held in any given positionby a wing nut 42 on a bolt 43.

Bolt 43 is mounted on the base 1 and extends through a hole in therheostat lever 41. The wing nut 42 is threadedly mounted on the upperend of the bolt 43. By turning the nut 42 the rheostat lever 41 ispushed down or allowed to raise up depending on which direction the nut42 is turned, and the nut 42 then holds rheostat lever 41 in the sameposition until the nut 42 is turned again. The rheostat 40 iselectrically connected to the motor 30, which is of the variable speedtype exemplified by the usual sewing machine motor, by electrical cord32. The rheostat 40 also has an electrical cord 44 adapted to be pluggedinto an electric outlet.

In operation, the rheostat is first adjusted to provide the desiredspeed of the motor 30. A patient-user either mounts or is lifted intothe body support 11 and his feet are connected to the pedals. The motor30 is then energized to drive the wheel 21, hence the pedals 22, movingthe legs of the user. The speed of the Wheel can be increased ordecreased at will. An on-off switch for the motor can be provided at aplace at which the user can readily use it, and another where asupervisor can use it, for safety.

The friction coupling between the wheel and the motor is also a safetyfeature, because if, by mischance, the users foot should be wedgedbetween the pedal and the fork, for example, the drive cylinder willbegin to slip on the Wheel. A friction disk clutch can be used to thesame effect, but not as simply.

Numerous variations in the construction of the device of this inventionwithin the scope of the appended claims will occur to those skilled inthe art in the light of the foregoing disclosure. For example, the bodysupport 11 may be constituted by a plurality of bars which support aguard rail and are attached to the structure frame, the seat, or thebase. A body support can be provided without the peripheral rail. Thepedals can be similarly disposed, with respect to the wheel, so that thelegs of the user are raised and lowered together. The speed of thepedals can be varied during the course of a cycle. A cam, coordinatedwith the wheel, can be used to vary the speed of the pedals during thecourse of a cycle by moving the rheostat lever, for example, if it weredesirable to raise or lower the legs more quickly or to provide arest-permitting dwell time during the cycle, or to break the monotony ofa constant speed. These variations are merely illustrative.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to besecured by Letters Patent is:

1. A physical therapy device comprising pedals, an electric motorconnected to drive said pedals through a friction coupling adapted tolimit uniformly the force which said power means is able to exert onsaid pedals, and a body support positioned above said pedals at a plateto support the body of a user with the feet of the user on said pedals,said body support comprising a seat por- 3 tion, a body. encircling sidewall extending from said seat References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS2,261,355 11/1941 Flynn l2825 2,498,047 2/1950 Myers.

2,648,330 8/1953 Clark 128-25 2,663,376 12/1953 Curley 12825 XR LAWRENCEW. TRAPP, Primary Examiner

